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[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 538 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 538

To provide assistance to local educational agencies for the prevention 
  and reduction of violent crime in elementary and secondary schools.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 21, 1993

 Mr. Serrano (for himself, Mr. Engel, Mr. Ridge, Ms. Molinari, and Mr. 
   Pastor) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To provide assistance to local educational agencies for the prevention 
  and reduction of violent crime in elementary and secondary schools.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Classroom Safety Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the violence within elementary and secondary schools 
        across the Nation has increased dramatically during the past 
        decade;
            (2) the despair, brought about by poverty and 
        disenfranchisement, that affect millions of youth in cities 
        across the Nation is entering schools;
            (3) almost 3,000,000 crimes occur on or near school 
        campuses every year, 16,000 per school day or one every 6 
        seconds;
            (4) one fourth of major urban school districts now use 
        metal detectors;
            (5) 20 percent of teachers in schools have reported being 
        threatened with violence by a student;
            (6) greater efforts are needed for counseling and training 
        for teachers in potentially hostile school environments to 
        avert violence in schools;
            (7) schools are being asked to take on too many 
        responsibilities that society as a whole has neglected forcing 
        teachers to referee fights rather than teach;
            (8) teachers' unions are staging walk-outs to protest the 
        violence which denies interested students the opportunity to 
        learn;
            (9) local educational agencies and cities are already 
        financially devastated and need an infusion of Federal funds to 
        help fight violence in schools; and
            (10) local educational agencies should not have to withdraw 
        funds and resources intended for books, computers, and 
        teachers, to help pay for an increased need for safety 
        mechanisms in schools.
    (b) Purposes.--The purpose of this Act is to provide assistance to 
local educational agencies for the prevention and reduction of violent 
crime in schools throughout the Nation.

SEC. 3. GRANT AUTHORIZATION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Education is authorized to make 
grants to local educational agencies to provide assistance to such 
agencies most directly affected by crime and violence.
    (b) Model Project.--The Secretary shall develop a model for 
classroom safety written in English and Spanish in a timely fashion and 
make such model available to any local educational agency that requests 
such information.

SEC. 4. USE OF FUNDS.

    Grants made by the Secretary under this Act shall be used--
            (1) to fund anticrime and safety measures and to develop 
        education and training programs for the prevention of crime, 
        violence, and illegal use of drugs and alcohol;
            (2) for counseling programs for victims and witnesses of 
        crime in schools;
            (3) to develop programs for conflict resolution and peer 
        mediation counseling for students, teachers, and other 
        personnel in regular contact with students at school;
            (4) to purchase crime prevention equipment, including metal 
        detectors and video-surveillance devices; and
            (5) for the prevention and reduction of the participation 
        of students in organized crime and drug and gang-related 
        activities in schools.

SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS.

    (a) In General.--In order to be eligible to receive a grant under 
this Act for any fiscal year, a local educational agency shall submit 
an application to the Secretary in such form and containing such 
information as the Secretary may reasonably require.
    (b) Requirements.--Each application under subsection (a) shall 
include--
            (1) a request for funds for the purposes described in 
        section 4;
            (2) a description of the schools and communities to be 
        served by the grant, including the nature of the crime and 
        violence problems within such schools;
            (3) assurances that Federal funds received under this Act 
        shall be used to supplement, not supplant, non-Federal funds 
        that would otherwise be available for activities funded under 
        this Act; and
            (4) statistical information in such form and containing 
        such information that the Secretary may require regarding crime 
        within the schools served by such local educational agency.
    (c) Comprehensive Plan.--Each application shall include a 
comprehensive plan that shall contain--
            (1) a description of the crime problems within the schools 
        targeted for assistance;
            (2) a description of the projects to be developed;
            (3) a description of the resources available in the 
        community to implement the plan together with a description of 
        the gaps in the plan that cannot be filled with existing 
        resources;
            (4) an explanation of how the requested grant will be used 
        to fill gaps;
            (5) a description of the system the applicant will 
        establish to prevent and reduce crime problems; and
            (6) a description of educational materials to be developed 
        in Spanish.

SEC. 6. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS; LIMITATIONS ON GRANTS.

    (a) Administrative Cost Limitation.--The Secretary shall use not 
more than 5 percent of the funds available under this Act for the 
purposes of administration and technical assistance.
    (b) Renewal of Grants.--A grant under this Act may be renewed for 
up to 2 additional years after the first fiscal year during which the 
recipient receives an initial grant under this Act, subject to the 
availability of funds, if--
            (1) the Secretary determines that the funds made available 
        to the recipient during the previous year were used in a manner 
        required under the approved application; and
            (2) the Secretary determines that an additional grant is 
        necessary to implement the crime prevention program described 
        in the comprehensive plan as required by section 5(c).

SEC. 7. AWARD OF GRANTS.

    (a) Selection of Recipients.--The Secretary shall consider the 
following factors in awarding grants to local educational agencies:
            (1) Crime problem.--The nature and scope of the crime 
        problem in the targeted schools.
            (2) Need and ability.--Demonstrated need and evidence of 
        the ability to provide the services described in the plan 
        required under section 5(c).
            (3) Population.--The number of students to be served by the 
        plan required under section 5(c).
    (b) Geographic Distribution.--The Secretary shall attempt, to the 
extent practicable, to achieve an equitable geographic distribution of 
grant awards.

SEC. 8. REPORTS.

    (a) Report.--Local educational agencies that receive funds under 
this Act shall submit to the Secretary a report not later than March 1 
of each year that describes progress achieved in carrying out the plan 
required under section 5(c).
    (b) Report to Congress.--The Secretary shall submit to the Congress 
a report by October 1 of each year in which grants are made available 
under this Act which shall contain a detailed statement regarding grant 
awards, activities of grant recipients, a compilation of statistical 
information submitted by applicants under 5(b)(4), and an evaluation of 
programs established under this Act.

SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purpose of this Act:
            (1) The term `local educational agency' has the same 
        meaning given such term under section 1471(12) of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
            (2) The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Education.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 for fiscal 
year 1993 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal 
years 1994 through 1999 to carry out the projects under this Act.

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